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Thursday, 23 May 2013

When was the London season?

The first quadrille at Almack's
from The Reminiscences and Recollections of Captain Gronow (1889)

Many a Regency heroine has gone to London to have a “season” in the hope of finding a husband. But when was the London season?

Parliamentary sessions

The London season developed to coincide with the sitting of parliament. During the months when parliament was in session, members of both Houses needed to be in attendance in London and came to the capital bringing their families with them. The London season grew up in response to this influx of upper class people who needed to be entertained.

“The aristocratic "season" came into existence not only to further the marriage market but to entertain the upper classes while they carried out their political duties. The season followed the rhythm of Parliament: it began in late October with the opening of the new session, and ended in June with the summer recess.”(1)

An article on the court in The Penny Magazine (1837) suggested similar timing:

“The London ‘season’, or winter, was reckoned, during the last century [the 18th century], from about the month of November till that of May. It was regulated, as it is now, by the usual duration of the session of Parliament. Affluent people, who divided their time between London and the country, had less inducement then to absent themselves from the metropolis after the winter had set in, than they have now; and the state of the roads and means of communication rendered it convenient to the legislature to meet before travelling became, if not dangerous, at least very troublesome and annoying.”(2)

The shift of the season

The Opera House
from The Microcosm of London (1808-10)

But this is talking about the season in the late 18th century, long before the Regency started, so was the season held at the same time throughout the Georgian period?

The article in the Penny Magazine sheds some light on this:

“During the present century [19th century], the commencement of the London ‘season’ has been gradually postponed. Since 1806, the opening of the session of Parliament has been veering from November to January; since 1822, it has almost settled into a rule (unless, of course, when interrupted by anything extraordinary) that it should not be opened till about the month of February, the session extending till July, or the beginning of August. Thus the London ‘season’, or winter, has been thrown into the months of spring and summer.”(2)

So, when was the season?

To summarise, parliament traditionally sat from late October or November through to May or June. As travel was difficult, there was little incentive to leave the capital once the winter weather had set in and therefore it was convenient for the upper classes to stay in London during the whole of the winter period and the London season was fixed accordingly.

However, as travel improved with the spread of turnpike roads and more investment in the infrastructure, the ton was able to travel more easily to and from London during the winter months. It was no longer necessary to become established in London before the winter weather set in and so the opening of parliament, and hence the season, shifted to January or February. The most active part of the season was the period between Easter and when parliament adjourned for the summer, in July or August.

A drawing room at St James' Palace
from The Microcosm of London (1808-10)

An interesting observation

If you examine the actual dates of the parliamentary sessions, you will discover that, during the 1780s, parliament often began in January and conversely, many of the parliamentary sessions after 1800 began before Christmas. The shift in the start date of the parliamentary sessions from October/November to January/February was certainly not consistent and the shift in the season had more to do with the increased ease of travel during the winter.

The summer recess

After the close of the parliamentary session, in June to August, the nobility would leave the city and return to their country estates. They might visit a spa such as Cheltenham or Bath or a seaside watering place such as Brighton or Weymouth, or go travelling abroad.

Weymouth bay
from Weymouth and Melcombe Regis New Guide
by E Groves (1835)

The little season?

The question arises as to whether there was, in fact, a “little season”, in the Regency period, held during the autumn months of September to November. Although this concept is used in many Regency romances, I have not been able to find any contemporary evidence that such a season existed during this period, although it was definitely a part of the Victorian social calendar.

No doubt those people who came back to town early, in September or October, typically those who did not own country estates, entertained each other during these months, but the existence of an official little season is questionable.

The royal family in residence

The Debrett’s website suggests that the timing of the season was determined by when the royal family were in residence in London, from October to December and from April to July. This broadly corresponds with the normal parliamentary sessions, though with a gap over the winter, and might help explain why the period after Easter became the height of the London season during the Regency.

St James' Palace
from Leigh's New Picture of London (1827)

Have you come across any references to the Regency season which suggest different timing? In particular, do you know of any references to the ‘little season’ in the Regency period?

Notes
(1) From Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman (1998)
(2) From “A looking-glass for London – no. XI – the Court” from The Penny Magazine (April 1837)

33 comments:

A very interesting post. Many Regency writers do refer to the 'little season' that seems to be set in the fall, and often talk about many of the ton moving out of the city during the deep winter, to their country estates, or visiting house parties, etc. Lots of references to the city being thin of company during the winder. And the regular season, then, seems to correspond to what you mentioned as occurring during the Spring, with people leaving, again, during the heat of summer.

Not having researched that part of the period particularly, I wasn't aware of the information you shared.

Thanks, Regan. The hunting seasons may well have been a factor, especially during the Regency when travel was easier. The grouse hunting season started in August, when the aristocracy was usually on their country estates for the summer. The fox hunting season was from about November through to March which may have contributed to the main London season during the Regency being delayed until after Easter.

Thanks for your comments, Ella. What I have not been able to find is a primary source to support the existence of the 'Little Season' during the Regency. Do either of the books that you mention quote from one?

It's true that it might be something of her own creation for her own novels that other writers have adopted the use of but I think it's also entirely possible that back in her day in England she may have come across an actual source that has never been digitized and/or is no longer available maybe except in a library so there is very little record of it. It could also have been a first person source passed down in her own family about someone who attended the season as well as a 'little season'...so it could be perfectly accurate and just very under-recorded until the Victorian age. However, without knowing for sure, while it wouldn't stop me from using it if it was unavoidable in my plot I would definitely see if I could avoid using a 'little season' first. :)

Thank you for putting together this article! I'm writing a series that has a few books during the Regency time (my personal favorite), but I've always been confused by the exact dates of the Season. Nice to know that the people who lived in that time weren't always sure either ;) The time of year has a big impact on how different scenes play out, or what kinds of scenes would even be possible. Thanks again!

Thank you :) I was surprised how difficult it was to find a fixed date for the season. It was only after I started researching that I realised that the dates were more flexible than that and changed considerably over time.

If one studies the dates Parliament actually sat, one sees that it seldom did in the autumn. The state opening of Parliament-- after a general election-- was usually in October or November. Some matters such as wars had them meeting earlier and longer. !819 they met kin the fall and left on 24 December not to return until 2 Feb 1820 but the death of the King made changes in the schedule. I doubt the place of residence of the Royal family had much to do with the season or parliament. The King was at Windsor after he was confirmed in being ill. The Prince Regent lived in Carlton House or Brighton. The Queen's birthday was celebrated in January or February-- I think February-- when many made the journey to participate. Some people lived year round in metro London with short excursions into the country. The newspapers kept track of the nobility and royalty and recorded where they went and with whom they dined.

As his consort, Queen Charlotte would have been in deep mourning for a year and so would not have held any drawing rooms for a year as I understand it. Ladies with daughters/nieces to present would weigh the known state of health of royalties whose demise would affect presentation drawing rooms when deciding on the timing of their charges' debuts.

Charlotte Betts--- Queen Charlotte died in 1818. King George III in 1820. They had mourning until through February. ladies only needed to be presented to go to court. They didn't need to be presented to be "out."

Because I needed an autumn ball or similar larger social activity in 1813 London to set the scene for important events in my latest novel, I tried very hard to find support for a "Little Season," but sadly, no solid references were found. Logic states that when the nobility planned to be in Town for parliamentary sessions, dinners and balls would be planned of a scale that suited the expected influx of the bon ton. The actual dates the King opened and closed parliament each year are available from Hansard. 1810-11 was "the year with no Christmas," when members of Parliament were in ad-hoc meetings over the King's illness well into December. Since the meetings were unplanned, it's doubtful there were a great deal of large social events that autumn. In 1813, the year I wanted a "Little Season," Parliament opened in late November, two months later than I would have liked! It created a difficult gap in my time-line, then scrunched up critical events near Christmas! I don't yet know if my editor will insist on refining the events and time line. The scene in question is near the end, and we're editing Chapter 6 for an autumn 2016 release. I appreciate blog posts like this one, that add further facts to my arsenal of knowledge on this topic. Thanks, Rachel!

Thank you for clarifying. From Jane Austen's books, it seemed the season did begin in the Fall and carry through till Spring,when it seemed more likely that people would want to be in the country or traveling. I got really confused reading the Wikipedia page stating the season ran from Easter till August.

As others have noted much confusion surrounds the idea of a fall season. I don't think Parliament met regularly in the fall until later in the century. In the early years of the 19th century, parliament met in the autumn after a general election when there was a state opening of parliament. That only happened about once every seven years. However, deaths and other events could cause autumn meetings and elections out side the seven year pattern.People lived in and around town all year and government officials and royals entertained year round. There were some months where the newspapers carried little in society news beyond the report of the health of the royal family and whether the Duke of York attended a dinner for army veterans.People entertained all year around-- they usually didn't hold big balls or launch girls on their season all year. Dinners and routs, musical evenings and theatre parties were held. People didn't abandon town -- though they might leave during August for a stay in the country. Aristocrats lived and worked and entertained in town most of the months of the year. The season for launching daughters was after Easter to July.

Even well before the Regency period it was rare for the House of Lords to sit at Christmas, which was generally celebrated at country estates. Indeed, it was rare for the Lords to sit at all during midwinter, because this was the hunting season, particularly in the Home Counties. For their wives and daughters, continuing to entertain in London was quite another matter; however, it was often conducted more or less without men in attendance during those months. In addition, I've caught Georgette Heyer out in one or two historical errors but I wouldn't bet against her where the "Little Season" is concerned. She began collecting her large personal reference library in the 1920s, when the world she wrote about was only a century distant; it is now 200 years vanished, and a great many sources have simply disappeared.

There was a little season in Heyers own youth which she transposed back to the regency period. It was rare for wives and daughters to be in town without a brother or husband unless the mother was widowed. The newspapers of the day seldom report large balls during October and November. Those were the prime hunting months. Hunting stopped around February and didn't pick up again to August for fowl and September October for foxes. Heyer had an incorrect use of a special licence in The Reluctant Widow and had errors in other places. She had the British library but she didn't have the convenience of computers and search engines. She is much more accurate than most authors. No one should depend on Gronow except for atmosphere. He was one of those to whom the patronesses of Almacks' refused to give vouchers-- if his report of their doing so is true. If I had world enough and time ---

I would be interested to know your source for the information about a "little season" in Heyers' youth, which would have been during WW1, or even if "the seasons" would have continued during the war, partly due to the lack of young men.

Read Gilded Butterflies-- a book about the season.The URL you give is mainly post regency. For one thing, the author says the ladies went to Paris to get a suitable wardrobe. Of course they didn't do that during the early days of the regency because the countries were at war. During the regency the Queen's drawing rooms were not held on a regular schedule and it wasn't necessary for a girl to be presented to be OUT. The girl hoped to be married and would be presented as a bride whether presented as a single girl or not. The organized system of debutantes came later in the century.